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Validation of the Swedish translation of the general self-efficacy scale

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Abstract

Purpose

To study the internal consistency, factorial structure, and convergent validity of the Swedish translation of the General Self-Efficacy scale (S-GSE).

Methods

The S-GSE and two items on mental and physical work capacity were completed by a randomized population cohort (n = 4,027) and two cohorts (n = 3,310 and n = 498) of incident cases of sick-leave (>14 days).

Results

S-GSE means were higher among men than women in two of the cohorts and higher in the randomized population cohort than in the two sick-leave cohorts. Internal consistency was high with α = .90. Unidimensionality was indicated and factor loadings ranged between .64 and .80. Moderate correlations (.35–.38) between the S-GSE and mental work capacity were found in all cohorts. Yet, the correlation between S-GSE and physical work capacity was weaker in the sick-leave cohorts. The psychometric properties showed similar patterns across gender.

Conclusions

Across three cohorts, additionally stratified by gender, the S-GSE comprised one single latent factor and showed high internal consistency. However, since S-GSE was more strongly related to self-assessments of mental work capacity than physical work capacity regardless of sick-leave status, the S-GSE may not be a strong predictor of beliefs about physical work capacity across all populations.

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Abbreviations

S-GSE:

General Self-Efficacy scale

RP:

Cohort of a random sample of the general population

ER:

Cohort of sick-listed participants (>14 days) reported by the employer

SR:

Cohort of self-certified sick-listed participants

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Jesper Löve & Gunnel Hensing

  2. Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA

    Crystal Dea Moore

Authors
  1. Jesper Löve
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  2. Crystal Dea Moore
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  3. Gunnel Hensing
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jesper Löve.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 4.

Table 4 The Swedish translation of the General Self-Efficacy scale. English wordings in italics
Full size table

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Löve, J., Moore, C.D. & Hensing, G. Validation of the Swedish translation of the general self-efficacy scale. Qual Life Res 21, 1249–1253 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-0030-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-0030-5

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